the whitaker rule--for all jackpot winners

Reply #20

justxploring — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:12:36 GMT

Rundown99, I agree that telling everyone about your millions is stupid, but how can anyone remain anonymous from the government?

I take that back (the remark about letting people know you're rich) because a lot of people have millions and we read about them all the time. They're just careful about how they invest it and spend it and hire the right people to manage it. Even billionaires who have their pictures plastered all over the news don't have the problems Whittaker has. It's all come... [ More ]

Reply #19

csfb — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:39:33 GMT

I agree. No good deed goes unpunished.

Reply #18

csfb — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:37:18 GMT

Invasion of privacy. It would have to pass constitutional muster.

Reply #17

rundown99 — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:10:19 GMT

Of course, if you are ANONYMOUS, such problems wouldn't exist.....

Reply #16

DoubleDown — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:52:36 GMT

LOTTOMIKE, my vote is no. I don't want the government interfering if I have financial problems later in life.

Reply #15

justxploring — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:30:46 GMT

FWIW, not all of Whittaker's troubles have been the direct result of drinking. I think his drinking problem is only a symptom of his a-hole problem.

KY Floyd, I am sure you are right about this. My first boss out of college came from a wealthy family who helped build the corporation I worked for most of my life. He was given a very good job, but he drank himself to death - irreversible brain damage from alcohol. Coming from a family of teetotalers, it was my first experience with an alcoho... [ More ]

Reply #14

we;reallwinners — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 08:15:34 GMT

Agreed.....I remember someone telling me a long time ago..

we all have our bag of rocks, it's just that some of us like carrying them around so we can add to our collection, and some of us like to empty the bag once in a while

to loosely quote a movie line...... in life someone has to play the Loser, be glad it wasn't you

or the song lines that say Ridin high in April, shot down in May ......

It's all about cycles, and who know's whether Mr Whittaker will win the jackpot AGAIN..... [ More ]

Reply #13

KY Floyd — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 07:45:36 GMT

There are all sorts of details, such as who would administer the rule and what constitutes trouble but the simple answer is that you're right to be stupid should only be limited when it causes real injury to other people, and victimless crimes shouldn't be crimes. When I say real injury I mean it has to do more than offend or inconvenience somebody. If you want to drink yourself to death, how is that any different than doing other risky things, such as trying to climb Mount Everest? If the m... [ More ]

Reply #12

justxploring — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 06:19:49 GMT

Coin Toss, I agree with this concept (in part) but I think Mr. Whittaker simply has a drinking problem. Of course there's nothing simple about addiction, but we've over-analyzed his situation here. He obviously felt a lot of pressure after he won, but according to many articles he gave away quite a bit of his wealth including $14 million to a foundation he started to feed and clothe people in West VA.

In 12 step groups they have an expression that if you're an a-hole when you get on the... [ More ]

Reply #11

Coin Toss — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 23:24:14 GMT

Consider this re: Whitaker and others who have experienced hitting a jackpot being a bad thing happeneing to them:

I recently heard about this concept - it's a Jewish one - and have seen such amazing true life examples of it that I pass it on for what it's worth.

The illustration I heard went like this:

If someone came and handed you a no-strings attached 1,000,000 today, you would be very pleased. The same tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on.... [ More ]

Reply #10

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:03:44 GMT

thanks everyone!

i was just throwing that out there to see what people think.

Reply #9

four4me — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 18:08:38 GMT

Jack wasn't some guy that didn't know how to deal with money he was a millionaire before he won the jackpot. his lifestyle before he won was probably just about the same as it was after he won except now he had more money to throw around.

you tack that on with the excitement of having so much money to do just about anything one could ever want to then there can be some serious consequences.

Suppose Trump or Gates had won that money. I'll bet Trump would have spent it all within a week an... [ More ]

Reply #8

Coin Toss — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:49:10 GMT

LOTTOMIKE

NO, on several levels. Everyhting that has been said here, plus this;

Let's say a lottery winner went out and indulged themselves by buying something extravagant. Maybe a Maserati, who knows what. So the winners heirs freak out over it, go to the lottery commission, and say, We want the Whitaker rule to come into play.

Future winners shouldn't have to face such rules or potential situations because of some past winners that just couldn't handle it.

Reply #7

CA LotteryGuy — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:42:15 GMT

The lottery has no right, to tell a winner how to spend (or not spend) their winnings. We live in a free society that allows us to make our own decisions, for better or worse.

With that said I like what the California Lottery has done. On their web site under Media then Publications there is a link to Winners Manual. This manual gives advice from past winners and professionals about some steps that one may want to take when the big day arrives. While not mandatory reading, the lottery... [ More ]

Reply #6

dbello — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:23:27 GMT

I agree with all of the above comments and would like to add my pledge............eternal hostility toward any form of tyranny over the minds of man(kind). Nuf said.

Reply #5

delS — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:10:08 GMT

We live in a democracy, not a dictator society. People are humans, adults, and whether they are Donald Trump or Jack Whitaker they must give account for how they behave and that should not be legislated or dictated by law enforcement. You'll never get anyone in this society to buy into this insane notion.

Reply #4

MADDOG10 — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:05:55 GMT

Mike,

We as a people have no right to impose more sanctions upon another human being, because he was foolish with his lifestyle after a Lottery win.

Although I don't agree with how he handled his life, it was his own choice and his alone.If he chose to put his life in ruins so be it, some things are better left undone or unsaid, and I believe this is one of them..

Being branded as fool of the century and having to look at himself in the mirror everyday would be enough sanctions,... [ More ]

Reply #3

Litebets27 — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 12:29:10 GMT

.

The Government, be it local, State or Federal take enough from us. Please don't invite them in to take away or freeze winnings by judging our behavior after we have a large win.

litebets

Reply #2

s5thomps — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 10:37:45 GMT

Just Exploring, I totally agree with your views. Sometimes things happen either good or bad that challenges us. When Jack won the single biggest jackpot in history he did a lot of good things for a lot of people. But having that much amount of money does not give the right to do whatever on pleases without consequences. They are plenty of lottery winners out there that are living normal lives and taking care of their families that you never hear about because they were smart about their fortune.... [ More ]

Reply #1

justxploring — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 10:09:14 GMT

I think there are enough rules telling us what we can and cannot do with our own lives. In Jack's case, his wife probably had the option of taking legal action. I'm not opposed to family intervention if an individual is acting in ways he/she might cause harm. However, once you start imposing laws on personal behavior, where do you draw the line? We're all adults and make choices. Unfortunately, many of them are bad choices. Offenses relating to substance abuse like DUI and domestic violenc... [ More ]

the whitaker rule--for all jackpot winners

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:27:41 GMT

do you think when someone wins a jackpot they should have something called the whitaker rule .what i mean by that is that if someone gets in trouble due to drinking,drugs,etc. or start spending too much at once then the assets are frozen until that person gets some couseling and a clearer head on their shoulders.what do you think